wwebradyfandomcom-20200214-history
Akeem
Akeem made his debut in the WWF on May 12, 1987, as One Man Gamg, being managed by Slick, in a match against Jesse Cortez. He spent much of his early WWF run defeating enhancement talent in extremely short matches in order to build him up, most notably in a match where he Gourdbustered his opponent after the bell and then did the same to the referee, thus being (kayfabe) fined $10,000 for his actions. While the Gang often defeated jobbers and other lower card wrestlers with ease, he was often on the end of defeat when main eventing against bigger stars such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, although Gang was a major part of the angle regarding "Superstar" Billy Graham being forced into retirement. One Man Gang participated in the first ever Survivor Series pay-per-view as a member of André the Giant's team, fighting a team led by Hulk Hogan. In 1988, Gang entered the first Royal Rumble at number 19 out of 20 participants and was one of the last two men left in the ring, before being eliminated by Jim Duggan. One Man Gang participated in the World Title Tournament at WrestleMania IV, defeating Bam Bam Bigelow by count-out in the opening round. He drew a bye in the quarterfinals before being disqualified in the semifinals against eventual-tournament-winner "Macho Man" Randy Savage after Gang attempted to hit Savage with his manager's cane. Following his loss at WrestleMania, Gang was placed lower "on the card," feuding with Bam Bam Bigelow, Koko B. Ware, and Don Muraco. In September 1988, One Man Gang's manager, Slick, announced that Gang was actually African and planned to re-embrace his roots. An episode of WWF Superstars, which aired on September 24, 1988, featured a vignette with Gene Okerlund on-location in an American ghetto that was dubbed "The Deepest Darkest Parts Of Africa," where dancers dressed as tribal Africans danced and chanted around a fire; Slick then announced that Gang would be known by his new name, "Akeem, the African Dream." This vignette received some criticism, as the Caucasian "Akeem" delivered a promo in which he spoke with an extremely stereotypical black accent and mockingly danced while an African ritual took place in the background. Akeem and Big Boss Man captained a team that featured Ted DiBiase, the Red Rooster, and Haku to battle the Mega Powers' team at Survivor Series in 1988. During the match Akeem along with teammate Big Boss Man handcuffed Hulk Hogan to the ring post and were later disqualified. The two formed a team called the Twin Towers. Though the Twin Towers never held the WWF Tag Team Championship, they did feud heavily with WWF World Tag Team champions Demolition at house shows while also feuding with the Mega Powers and throughout the summer and fall of 1989, with the Twin Towers and Slick advertising title match that night against Demolition. They were also strongly involved in the storyline which would eventually cause Randy Savage to become a villain and challenge Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V. In the Royal Rumble, Randy Savage was accidentally eliminated by teammate Hogan, allowing both Akeem and Bossman to double team Hogan and eliminate him. The Main Event show broadcast live on NBC on February 3, 1989 featured Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage vs. The Twin Towers. During the match, Savage's manager Elizabeth was injured after Savage was thrown through the ropes and knocked her to the ground, which led Hulk Hogan to abandon his partner and carry Elizabeth back to the locker room for medical help. Although Hogan later returned to the match to help Savage defeat Akeem and Bossman, Hogan's actions with Elizabeth caused Savage to attack him backstage, setting up the headline match for WrestleMania. The Twin Towers went on to face The Rockers at WrestleMania V and defeated them when Akeem pinned Shawn Michaels with a diving Air Africa after a powerbomb from the Big Boss Man. In early 1990, Big Bossman became upset with Slick always trying to take the credit for him (as well as refusing to be part of a payoff from Ted DiBiase) and turned on both his manager and his partner Akeem. He defeated Akeem at WrestleMania VI. Although Akeem remained in the WWF until October 1990, his loss to The Bossman at WrestleMania was his last high profile match in the company. Akeem left the World Wrestling Federation due to his fading role in the company at the time. Category:Current Alumni Category:Slammy Award Winners